Baltimore Orioles Greats: The Mount Rushmore of Birdland

In the Black Hills of South Dakota, lies the epic monument, Mount Rushmore. The monument features the best presidents the United States has had. But, what if the monument was all about the Baltimore Orioles?

If you had to choose four of the best Baltimore Orioles to put on Mount Rushmore, who would you pick?

The presidents on the mountain include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. According to the National Parks Service website, “they represented the most important events in the history of the United States.”

So, if the Baltimore Orioles had their own Mount Rushmore, what four Orioles faces would represent the most important events in the history of Birdland. The key is deciding what the most important events actually are.

And, even though the Orioles have technically been in existence for 117 years as the original Milwaukee Brewers, then the St. Louis Browns, and then the Baltimore Orioles, this list will only include players from 1954 to present.

The most important events are rather easy to pick out. The team has three World Series wins, in 1966, 1970, and 1983. Therefore, players from those teams should be considered. Another important event has to be Cal Ripken‘s consecutive-game record. The other choices are not so clear.

A problem that arises when selecting only four players to represent the best of the Orioles is covering decades. Clearly, the Orioles were outstanding in the late 60s and early 70s and it is quite easy to pick four men to represent that era. But, what about the 80s, 90s, and 2000s? Since many top players manage to play for 15 to 20 years, should the four representatives be from four groupings of years: 1954-1969, 1970-1985, 1986-2003, 2004-2017? Because, if this is the case, then only one player from the 1966-1971 years could be chosen.

The other big question involves whether or not to include men who played for other teams. Should the Mount Rushmore of Orioles only include career Orioles? Should only players be included? What about managers? These are all tough questions.

The first choice is easy. The rest get a little more difficult.

The easiest choice of all is Cal Ripken. Other than pitching, Ripken leads in nearly every statistic. He has more hits and runs than any other Orioles player in the history of the team. Of course, it is due to his 3001 games played. Within those 3001 games, he played 2632 consecutive games which beat Lou Gehrig‘s record of 2130 games that stood for more than 50 years.

The best part of Ripken’s 3001 games is that he played every single one in an Orioles uniform. Interestingly, Ripken does not have the most games played by an Orioles player. That honor belongs to Ripken’s contemporary, Eddie Murray. But, not all of Murray’s 3026 games were played in an Orioles uniform.

Cal Ripken: First face of Baltimore Orioles Mount Birdmore

• Position: Shortstop and Third Baseman
• Seasons with Orioles: 1981-2001
• Batted/threw: Right/right
• Born: Aug. 24, 1960 in Havre de Grace, Maryland
• MLB debut: Aug. 10, 1981 with Orioles
• Last MLB appearance: Oct. 6, 2001 with Orioles
• Nickname: “Iron Man” or “Rip”
• All-Star Game appearances: 19
• World Series rings: 1 
• Gold Glove awards: 2
• Silver Slugger awards: 8
• MVP awards: 1
• Rookie of the Year: Yes
• BBWAA Hall of Fame: Yes. Class of 2007.

Ripken’s career stats

• Games: 3,001
• Batting average: .276
• Hits: 3184
• At bats: 11,551
• Home runs: 431
• RBIs: 1695
• Runs: 1647
• Doubles: 603
• Stolen bases: 36
• OBP: .340
• SLG: .447

The other easy pick was Brooks Robinson, who sits in second place under Ripken when it comes to overall team statistics. At one point, there were two Robinsons on the team, but Brooks had better stats than Frank Robinson – at least when it involved the Orioles. And, if I pick players that cover different decades, Brooks is the better choice and belongs on the Orioles Mount Rushmore.

Robinson was known as the Human Vacuum Cleaner because he could stop anything that came his way at the hot corner. For younger fans, he was a defensive wiz like Manny Machado as he could make the toughest plays looks easy.

And, like Ripken, Robinson played a serious number of games, all in an Orioles uniform. He played 2896 games, ranking him 14th overall. He accomplished this goal by playing between 1955 and 1977.

According to the article about him on the BBWAA Hall of Fame website:

“He was so beloved in Baltimore that sports writer Gordon Beard wrote ‘Brooks (Robinson) never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore, people named their children after him.’”

Brooks Robinson: Second face of Baltimore Orioles Mount Birdmore

• Position: Third Baseman
• Seasons with Orioles: 1955- 1977
• Batted/threw: Right/right
• Born: May. 18, 1937 in Little Rock, Arkansas
• MLB debut: Sept. 17, 1955 with Orioles
• Last MLB appearance: Aug. 13, 1977 with Orioles
• Nickname: “Human Vacuum Cleaner” or “Mr. Impossible”
• All-Star Game appearances: 18
• World Series rings: 2
• Gold Glove awards: 16
• Silver Slugger awards: 0
• MVP awards: 1
• Rookie of the Year: No.
• BBWAA Hall of Fame: Yes. Class of 1983.

Robinson’s career stats

• Games: 2896
• Batting average: .267
• Hits: 2858
• At bats: 10,654
• Home runs: 268
• RBIs: 1357
• Runs: 1232
• Doubles: 482
• Stolen bases: 28
• OBP: .322
• SLG: .401

The Orioles were simply too good in the 1970s and 1980s. And, they haven’t been the same since, even with Ripken playing into 2001. No Orioles Mount Rushmore would be complete without Jim Palmer. He is simply the best pitcher to step on the mound in an Orioles uniform. Every game he played was with the Orioles.

No other pitcher has stats that come close. Yes, Tippy Martinez pitched in the closest number of games, but his innings pitched aren’t even close. Yes, ten pitchers have lower ERA numbers than Palmer has, but their bodies of work can’t compare. He is the definition of a horse and has the work ethic that other pitchers strive to achieve. Like all players of his caliber, he made everything look easy – which is the best way to identify greatness between the lines.

His most unusual record is that he has World Series win in three different decades, the 60s, 70s, and 80s. He was the first pitcher to do this.

Jim Palmer: Third face of Baltimore Orioles Mount Birdmore

• Position: Starting pitcher
• Seasons with Orioles: 1965 -1984
• Batted/threw: Right/right
• Born: Oct. 15, 1945 in New York, New York
• MLB debut: Apr. 17, 1965 with Orioles
• Last MLB appearance: May 12, 1984 with Orioles
• Nickname: “Cakes”
• All-Star Game appearances: 6
• World Series rings: 3
• Gold Glove awards: 4
• Cy Young awards: 3
• MVP awards: 0
• Rookie of the Year: No.
• BBWAA Hall of Fame: Yes. Class of 1990.

Palmer’s career stats

• Games: 558
• ERA: 2.86
• Wins/Losses: 268/152
• Innings pitched: 3948
• Earned runs: 1253
• Strikeouts: 2212
• Average against: .230
• WHIP: 1.18